Baby Pictures
by cherylwoo
Summary: Kuroko discovers a stash of Akashi's baby pictures that he has never seen before because his boyfriend had kept them hidden. The reason is soon obvious, but Kuroko finds it adorable.


A/N – I saw pictures of a creative mother setting up her baby in various poses by putting props around him while he slept to give him some sort of bedtime adventure. Then, I developed this headcanon that Shiori would be such a doting mother towards her son that she would do this to Akashi while he slept as a baby.

Kuroko dug through the mess of items that he and Akashi had deemed useless but didn't want to get rid of just yet. He was looking for his final year thesis, as a student teacher at the kindergarten he was working at had kindly requested for his as a sample for her to complete her own at the end of the academic year. Kuroko was sure he hadn't thrown it out (he remembered shedding a lot of blood and tears writing that thesis, so it had too much sentimental value to be thrown out).

Well, Kuroko could have sent the student teacher a soft copy of his thesis, but unfortunately, he had lost the file when he had to reformat his computer two years ago.

Kuroko lifted a pile of old magazines from the cupboard and put it aside. After determining that his thesis was not in the stack, Kuroko shifted his attention to a brown envelope that had been buried under the magazines.

Kuroko frowned. What would an envelope be doing hidden beneath those magazines? He reached out to pick it up. In front of the envelope was written in a beautiful handwriting that Kuroko knew did not belong to Akashi: "Seijuurou's baby pictures".

Seijuurou's baby pictures? That piqued Kuroko's interest. After they had begun dating for a while, Akashi and Kuroko had shared their baby pictures with each other. They knew what each other looked like as a baby, and Kuroko had to say that Akashi was a beautiful baby. And it was clear from Akashi's baby photos that his parents loved him very much – there was always such joy and excitement in his face in the photographs.

When Akashi and Kuroko had moved in together, they had placed their baby pictures together in the same place – in a small album in the third drawer of the table in their bedroom. This was why Kuroko found it odd that there was a separate collection of Akashi's baby pictures unbeknownst to him.

Kuroko opened the envelope. He peered into it and took out the first photograph. When Kuroko looked at it, he couldn't help letting out a soft giggle and an "Aw". In the picture, a red-haired baby was sleeping. But what was interesting was the props laid out around him. There was an orange-brownish cloth at the baby's feet placed to be shaped like a boat with wings. Beside the baby was a sail-shaped decor. There were three animal soft toys next to the baby (a zebra, a duck and a cow) that made it look like they were riding the boat with the baby. Around the baby were two fluffy pillows shaped like clouds and three multi-coloured props made to be shaped like flying fishes. It seemed as though baby Akashi was going on a sailing adventure in the sky with his animal friends.

Kuroko marvelled at the creativeness of the photograph. He would never have thought to do such a thing to a sleeping baby. Then again, Akashi told him that his mother had a degree in fine arts, so it wasn't too surprising that she would have the imagination to do this.

Kuroko took out the rest of the pictures from the envelope. There were a total of five photos.

In the next picture, a flock of six birds was flying baby Akashi towards a castle in the sky. This was followed by baby Akashi and an owl sitting on a tree branch underneath a large orange crescent moon. Then, baby Akashi was a ghost floating around a graveyard with spooky silhouettes and a haunted-looking castle. Finally, baby Akashi was dressed like a witch on a broomstick with a jack-o-lantern and he was flying off to the moon.

Kuroko didn't understand why Akashi wanted to keep these photographs hidden. They were without any doubt the most interesting baby pictures Kuroko had ever seen, and were too endearing to be buried underneath a stack of magazines.

Kuroko put the photos back into the envelope and placed it aside. He would ask Akashi about them when he returned. Meanwhile, he still had a thesis to look for.

* * *

When Akashi got home that evening, Kuroko was in the kitchen preparing dinner for the two of them. It was an unspoken arrangement between them that Kuroko would prepare dinner on Saturdays because Akashi usually had to work on Saturdays, and on Sundays they would go out for a nice romantic dinner. On weekdays, since both Akashi and Kuroko were busy with work, they would either have dinner by themselves (if Akashi would be home late) or they would go out for a simple meal.

"I'm home, darling!" Akashi called as he entered the house.

"Dinner is almost ready!" came the reply from the kitchen. "Why don't you go change into something more comfortable?"

"Okay!" replied Akashi. "I'll be right down!"

"Take your time!"

Akashi went into his bedroom to change out of the suit he had to wear when he attended corporate meetings. He slipped on a T-shirt and trackpants before heading downstairs to help Kuroko in the kitchen.

However, when Akashi stepped into the kitchen, Kuroko ushered him out, telling him that he had already finished cooking and that he didn't need any help. The dining hall was adjacent to the kitchen, so when Akashi had been thrown out of the kitchen, he naturally found himself in the dining hall. He headed to the dining table, where he saw a brown envelope lying on the table where he usually sat. Upon approaching the table, Akashi's eyes widened when he realised that Kuroko had somehow found his baby pictures that he never wanted Kuroko to see.

"Tetsuya?" Akashi managed to croak out as he picked up the envelope.

"Yes, Seijuurou-kun?" Kuroko's head popped out of the kitchen.

Akashi held the envelope up. "How did you find this?"

"Oh, that?" Kuroko's head disappeared into the kitchen. "I was looking for my thesis to lend to a colleague."

"And you saw the photos?"

"Yes," replied Kuroko. He reappeared from the kitchen, carrying two plates of food, which he placed in the centre of the dining table. "They are really cute. Why did you hide them?"

Akashi immediately turned red. He averted his eyes from Kuroko. "They're embarrassing," he mumbled, his fingers fiddling with the envelope.

Kuroko laughed. He walked towards Akashi and pried the envelope out of his hand. "I think they are ridiculously adorable," said Kuroko. "Why don't we keep them with the rest of our baby pictures in the drawer?"

Akashi heaved a loud sigh. "Well, now that you've seen them, there's no use hiding them…"

"You shouldn't hide the photos – you were a beautiful baby."

Akashi put his hands on his hips. "It wasn't about how I looked," he muttered. "I was embarrassed by what my mother did to me in those pictures."

Kuroko hid an amused smile behind his hand. "I truly thought they were really cute," he said. "If you were so embarrassed, why didn't you throw them away?"

Akashi sank down onto his chair. There was a pause before he opened his mouth to speak. "My mother didn't have many possessions," Akashi explained. "When she married my father, the only thing she took with her when she moved into his estate was her clothes. So when she died, she didn't leave behind much either."

Kuroko nodded, taking Akashi's hand in his own. "So these pictures are one of the few physical things she left behind," he finished for Akashi.

"That's right. I cannot bear to get rid of them, even though I am so mortified by them."

"I understand, Seijuurou-kun," murmured Kuroko. He placed the envelope gently on the table. "Well, how about I be in charge of keeping these pictures with the rest of our baby pictures? I think they're cute, and no one else will see them, okay?"

"Yes, and please bury it in the drawer – underneath all the other photographs," deadpanned Akashi. He pushed the envelope towards Kuroko.

Kuroko chuckled. "Will do," he replied, taking the envelope. He leaned forward to plant a kiss on Akashi's lips as a gesture of comfort. "Now, I shall get the rice and then shall we eat?"

"Yes," said Akashi. "I'm starving!"


End file.
